Doctors want NHS plans stopped

Delegates from an emergency meeting called by the British Medical Association have said the government needs to stop its plans for overhauling the health service.

The members cast votes in favour of calling for the government to stop its health bill, which the union said was a "dangerous and risky" plan.

The government responded by saying the BMA should offer more constructive opinions.

The emergency meeting was the first such conference to be called for almost 20 years and was organised after BMA heads fielded concerns from its members about the government's plans.

The BMA are due to meet on 16 March in order to decide how to move forward on the issue.

BMA head Dr Hamish Meldrum said an overhaul of the NHS was "very dangerous" and told the BBC it was time to begin "ratcheting up" concerns.

But a Department of Health spokesman said: "We are disappointed the BMA has decided to take this step rather than work constructively with us to improve services for patients."

"The reality is over 5,000 GP practices, covering two thirds of the country, have already signed up and have started to implement plans to give patients better care. The NHS must modernise in order to keep up with the increasing demand on services, an ageing population and rising costs of new drugs and treatments."